IC approves tuition rise for 2012-13

Ithaca College announced yesterday it will raise tuition 4.88 percent for the 2012-13 academic year, bringing tuition to $37,000 with room and board rising to $13,400. The total cost of attendance will be $50,400.

Rochon said he wants the college experience to match its price tag.

The $1,722 increase is part of the 2012 budget, which was drawn up by the budget committee and approved by the Board of Trustees last week. The budget committee is led by the Office of Finance and Administration.

Carl Sgrecci, vice president of finance and administration, declined to comment on the new cost of tuition.

Tuition rose from the current $35,278 price — the lowest increase in a decade. The cost of tuition has gone up 20.9 percent since the 2008-09 school year.

President Tom Rochon said the college wants to remain affordable while still covering its costs, including the institutional changes laid out in the IC 20/20 vision plan.

“We have been very attentive in the last three or four years to the fact that the costs are very substantial and can be a very real burden for our students and some of our students and families,” he said.

The college compares its tuition to 20 similar colleges and universities where they see students apply, Rochon said. The college’s tuition is still less expensive than 16 of those institutions’ 2011-12 rates, according to a letter sent to parents this week.
“We like that position,” he said. “We want to be a good value to students.”

Freshman Karly Redpath said she was not aware the college usually increases tuition every year until they announced the new rate this week.

“The tuition here is high and it’s going to get higher,” she said. “I don’t know if that’s going to affect anything I do, but I love it here.”

Junior Ellis Williams said he worries that the increasing cost of tuition could prevent some people from attending the college. He said the college’s expansion, through initiatives like IC 20/20 and the center in New York City, will drive up costs and exclude potential students who don’t have the means to pay for it.

“Students who potentially may be able to come to this campus know that it’s all about money at the end of the day,” he said.

The budget also allots $88 million for institutional financial aid, according to a statement from the college.